With the arrival of autumn in the northern hemisphere and Halloween, we are inundated with pumpkin recipes. From mega-industrialized sweets to those that can be made at home.
If you like American confectionery, like me, you spend hours looking at these recipes and practically everyone asks for it. the damn pumpkin puree em lata. Nothing against the product… I mean: just the fact that it doesn’t exist in Brazil.
And one of the desserts I’ve always wanted to make is the famous Pumpkin Pie good americona, but practically all recipes call for the puree already ready or when they teach how to make it, it is with a variety of pumpkin that does not exist in the country. I’ll still go to the USA to prove it in locowhile this doesn’t happen, we make adaptations.
I’ve already tried the canned puree and… spoiler alert: has a pumpkin flavor. And nothing artificial, I was quite surprised. The detail is the use of varieties that are not common here. One way or another, they are all the same gender. Pumpkinspecies and cultivars vary.
The best-known foreign brand is Libby’s (it’s from Nestlé) and uses its own pumpkin, Libby’s Select, a variant of the Dickinson pumpkin. It has a thin skin, thick and very orange pulp. And when it cooks it is creamy and sweet. They belong to the species Gourd nutmeg.
For the our way I chose the pumpkin kabochaa variety of the species The largest pumpkin. Due to the size, color and flavor of the pulp, and availability. And of course, due to my origins, it is an already known flavor.
Cooking is done in the oven instead of in the pan. As pumpkins are extremely moist (90%) we don’t want more water, as it will dilute the flavor and will influence the recipe made with the puree.
When roasting, it helps remove some of the water from the fruit (yes, pumpkin is a fruit). After roasting to make it homogeneous and without lumps, it is blended in a food processor or hand mixer.
- In photo Pure: shows the puree ready after processing. Note the lighter, more intense and shiny color. In this case it could be used for soups and broths.
- In photo Annealed: the puree was cooked over low heat to remove more water and concentrate it. In this case, there was a 30% reduction in the initial weight. The darkest, most intense and most consistent color.
For sweets in confectionery and bakery, it is necessary this second annealing stage. The pure puree is more liquid, it still contains a lot of water, which will interfere with the final flavor of the production and its execution.
I believe the suggestion can be reproduced for any variety, in fact. But make sure they are sweet, as the intention here is to make sweets later!
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Makes: 900 – 1260g
- 2 kg pumpkin of the Kabocha variety (about 1 unit)
1 cup: 250mL | 1 tablespoon: 15mL.
- Wash the outside of the pumpkin very well.
- Cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds.
- Place on a baking tray with the cut side facing down. The baking tray can be lined with silpat, silicone mat or aluminum foil.
- Bake at 170-180ºC for 45-60 minutes or until it is soft when pierced with a fork.
- Remove from the oven and wait until it is warm to the touch.
- With a spoon, remove as much of the pulp as possible without removing the skin.
- For a finer texture, use a food processor or hand mixer.
- Cook the puree over low heat in a large pan or frying pan to remove excess moisture, stirring constantly for about 25-30 minutes. The color and consistency will change. It must reduce at least 30% of the initial weight.
- Pumpkin variety: technically it can be any type, the ones used for sweets would also work.
- Annealing: it is necessary for recipes where humidity can be a problem such as bread dough, cakes and pies.
